One of four people charged in the disappearance of grave markers and historical site markers has entered a guilty plea in Franklin County District Court.
43-year-old Brandon Smith of Hampton entered a guilty plea this past Thursday to the charges of first degree theft and first degree criminal mischief.
The other three, 31-year-old Rachel Card of Hampton, 33-year-old Lauren Johnson of Dumont, and 41-year-old Joshua Sellers of Manly entered not guilty pleas to the same charges as filed against Smith, with their trials currently scheduled for July 15th.
The state alleges that the markers had the wording ground off of them and were then cut into smaller pieces to prepare them for the scrap metal process, with over 700 pounds of the pieces being recovered in January. The sentencing hearing for Smith was set for June 23rd at 9am.
Smith is also facing a tampering with a witness charge from this same case, and is currently scheduled to have a jury trial on August 12th. Tampering with a witness is a class “C” felony, punishable by up to 10-years in prison.
